NEWS
Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and International Play Association
As of July of 2022, Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative signed on to be an official member of the International Play Association (IPA).
About the Internal Play Association
The purpose of IPA is “to protect, preserve and promote children's right to play as a fundamental human right, according to the Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Article 31 says, “States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.” Did you know that all nations eligible for signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child did, except for the United States?
Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is dedicated to play advocacy. Our business has been advocating for recess locally, but we want to expand our conversation from focusing on local and national advocacy, to reaching and connecting with international efforts. In the month of October, IPA hosted two members only webinars: Building Social Cohesion and Community Wellbeing through Play and Providing for Play in Ukraine. Both webinars provided new perspectives on play, and affirmed that we’re engaged with equitable play practices other nations implement as well.
You can find more IPA information and updates on their website at:
Website: ipaworld.org
Facebook: facebook.com/internationalplay
Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative’s Ultimate Play Day Highlighted by PLL City Network
In a new video, PLL highlights the annual Ultimate Play Day event, which is held in Pittsburgh and hosted by Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative:
On Wednesday, October 12, 2022, Brookings Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking and the Center for Universal Education, in partnership with Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network (PLLAN), hosted an in-person and virtual event to examine how cities are infusing playful learning in their communities.
As part of this event, Playful Learning Landscapes introduced its PLL City Network through a video. The Network is helping to build momentum and engagement around playful learning in urban areas across the U.S. and abroad.
The video highlights the annual Ultimate Play Day event, which is held in Pittsburgh and hosted by Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative:
Ultimate Play Day is a celebration of playfulness for people of all ages. This annual event is an opportunity for people from throughout the Pittsburgh region to play together and aims to raise awareness of the benefits of play for everyone. Partners and community organizations, such as fellow Collaborative Member and PLL City Network partner Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, offer play activities for all ages at a different venue annually. This past year’s Ultimate Play Day helped activate Liberty Green Park in the Larimar neighborhood.
For more information on past Ultimate Play Days, visit playfulpittsburgh.org/ultimate-play-day.
About
Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL) is a culturally adaptable and sustainable approach for creating more child-friendly cities by augmenting opportunities for play, learning, and healthy development in the public realm.
Learn more and visit PLL’s website by visiting playfullearninglandscapes.com/.
You may also enjoy findings from last year’s “Finding Joy Through Playful Learning” virtual conference.
Welcome our Newest Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Members! - October 2022
Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is constantly growing to help advocate for play in and around Pittsburgh!
Communities in Schools
Communities In Schools® (CIS®) surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.
For more information, visit communitiesinschools.org.
Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition
The Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition is celebrating 50 years of community development! Through the coalition's planning of community-based initiatives, led by volunteer committees, Squirrel Hill residents and organizations have the space to both voice their concerns and rejoice in their celebrations with one another. From activities like tree-watering and litter patrol, to the night market and treasure dinner, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition helps facilitate community engagement through events involving service, social outings, education, and more facets of residential development. On the website linked below, you can navigate to the community calendar which has an event that caters to everyone
Be sure to follow the coalition on instagram @squirrellhillurbancoalition for further reminders and event details! For more information, visit shuc.org.
Dr. Sharon Ross, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Sharon Ross is an Associate Professor of Health and Human Development in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research centers on physical activity and healthy lifestyle promotion in children and families, with a particular focus on Latinx families. Her community-engaged research studies typically utilize trained community health workers (promotores in Spanish) to deliver the home- and community-based programs/interventions. Dr. Ross teaches courses on health equity and tailoring programs for diverse populations, evidence-based program design and evaluation, health promotion policy and program implementation, and improvement science methods. She lives in Greenfield with her husband, two daughters, and goldendoodle Axl. Her favorite way to get moving is to go hiking, walk her dog, or play at the playground with her daughters.
For more information, visit pitt.edu.
CitiParks
Citywide events, neighborhood festivals and year-round recreational activities truly enhance the quality of life for the people of Pittsburgh – 365 days a year. Whether you are looking for a relaxing walk through a park or a challenging run through the streets, check out this website for ideas about how to spend your leisure time seven days a week.
For more information, visit pittsburghpa.gov/citiparks.
Child in Mind Consulting
Child In Mind Consulting provides individualized developmental consulting for parents & educators of typical young children ages 0-5, at home or in the classroom (in-person & virtual).
"My philosophy is a play-based approach with a focus on mindfulness that allows children to curiously explore their environments through their senses, while learning to communicate their thoughts and feelings when present. This approach promotes freedom of choice, autonomy, and self-regulation. Raising/working with children tends to bring out the unhealed child in us. A mindfulness approach allows encouragement without force, reciprocal relationships, and self-expression. My philosophy teaches caretakers techniques to focus their awareness on the present moment to co-regulate with their child."
For more information, visit childinmindconsulting.com.
Play Around Pittsburgh: Kangaroo Birthing & Maternity Concierge
Kangaroo Birthing & Maternity Concierge held a Community Day fundraiser to benefit the organization’s mommy concierge to continue to provide maternal health education.
Kangaroo Birthing & Maternity Concierge held a Community Day fundraiser on Saturday, 9/19 to benefit the organization’s mommy concierge to continue to provide maternal health education. The organization had twelve families show up to the fundraiser. Kangaroo Birthing was able to raise an estimated $2,000 towards their maternal education efforts. See below a few playful images from the fundraiser!
Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative provided games and equipment, including our popular oversized “Connect Four” game.
For more information on Kangaroo Birthing & Maternity Concierge, visit kangaroobirthing.com.
Play Around Pittsburgh: Be A Good Neighbor Block Parties
The Fall 2023 Be A Good Neighbor Block Parties were a major success! The University of Pittsburgh held four block parties with a totally of almost 600 long-term and student residents in South Oakland, North Oakland, Oakcliffe and Oakland Square.
The Fall 2022 Be A Good Neighbor Block Parties were a major success! The University of Pittsburgh held four block parties with a totally of almost 600 long-term and student residents in South Oakland, North Oakland, Oakcliffe and Oakland Square. Our final West Oakland block party is being held on Tuesday, September 27 from 5:00PM – 7:00PM on the Trees Hall Lawn.
The block party featured tables from various Oakland-based vendors, including organizations such as Carnegie Library, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pitt’s Student Office of Sustainability, free food provided by Cilantro & Ajo food truck, and games and activities provided by the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative. Students and community members had a chance to connect and celebrate the start to the new school year as the forged new relationships for the semester to come.
For more information on the Be A Good Neighbor Block Party, visit pitt.edu/pittwire/features-articles/be-a-good-neighbor-parties-2022.
What Are Our Playful Partners Up To? - Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was recently awarded a $235,000 grant from the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust to plan, design and conduct community engagement for an outdoor sensory classroom at the Frick Environmental Center (FEC).
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was recently awarded a $235,000 grant from the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust to plan, design and conduct community engagement for an outdoor sensory classroom at the Frick Environmental Center (FEC).
The Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust provides financial support for organizations and projects that serve children and people with intellectual and physical disabilities, with an emphasis on Allegheny County.
The project’s ultimate goal is to repurpose and enhance the existing Nature Play area and Woodland loop trail behind the Environmental Center with thoughtfully designed improvements to support playful learning and multi-sensory exploration. We are excited to kick off the project by engaging with focus groups of Pittsburgh educators, caregivers, disability advocates, and community members. Additionally, we are assembling an Advisory Committee to ensure the design of the sensory classroom responds to the needs of educators, learners with exceptionalities, and other park users.
Playful outdoor environments provide opportunities for growth and learning, affecting all areas of development. Currently, few options exist in Pittsburgh that are purpose-built for learners with exceptionalities and their families, and even fewer are free. Moreover, there are a limited number of green spaces designed with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles for architecture and programming, which are intended to support learners of all abilities and change the design of the environment rather than changing the learner.
At the Frick Environmental Center, our education staff strives to facilitate diverse and authentic experiences that deepen and inspire personal connection to nature and foster a sense of identity as part of the natural community. We know children connect and learn through play. We have worked hard to incorporate play into our programming and have looked at ways to make the physical environment playful.
Over the past few years, we have developed a nature play area at the base of South Clayton Trail using the natural materials found in the park. The space is designed to invite park users to connect with nature playfully. This new project will build on that work to create an inviting and accessible play area.
Focus groups, listening sessions, surveys and public meetings will continue throughout the various phases of the project, and community feedback will be incorporated as the plan progresses. It is our hope that these meetings themselves can be accessible, employ multiple modes of engagement and playfulness. Design of the outdoor sensory classroom is projected for completion in the summer of 2023.
To learn more about the outdoor sensory classroom project, please visit pittsburghparks.org/park-projects/frick-environmental-center-sensory-classroom/
About Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy:
Recently celebrating its 25th year, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was founded in December 1996 by a group of citizens concerned with the deteriorating conditions of Pittsburgh’s historic city parks. A non-profit organization, the Parks Conservancy works closely with the City of Pittsburgh under an official public-private partnership agreement to restore and improve the city’s park system to its full potential. To date, the Parks Conservancy has raised more than $130 million and completed more than 22 major park improvement projects. The Parks Conservancy works with thousands of volunteers, hosts hundreds of events, and provides programming for more than 7,500 children annually.